


But With His Mother He Did

by tailorlilbaker



Series: But With His Mother He Did [1]
Category: The Bob Crane Show
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-07-12 13:21:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15996068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tailorlilbaker/pseuds/tailorlilbaker
Summary: [Full Title: (Not With My Mother You Don't) But With His Mother He Did]Marvin finds out a little too much about his mother's previous acquaintance with Bob—or was it just enough?





	1. Class Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction for _The Bob Crane Show_! In fact... as far as I know, this is THE first fanfiction for _The Bob Crane Show_! There are only two known episodes left in existence, so unfortunately those and descriptions of other episodes are all I'm able to really go off of. The two that do exist are a little iffy to find (they're not exactly streamable anywhere), so if you at least have a basic understanding of the premise of the show and have maybe seen the few clips available on YouTube, it shouldn't be too hard to follow. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bob helps Marvin prepare for his mother's visit, but she's got a few surprises of her own.

“Thanks again for helping me get groceries, Bob,” Marvin said as the two walked toward his apartment one Friday afternoon. “I really owe you one.” 

“I think you owe me more than _one_ , Marvin,” Bob replied. “You were short $7.58, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Marvin muttered. “I’ll get that back to you as soon as I can…” 

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” Bob responded, “I was only kidding.”

“Oh, great, thanks,” Marvin said, hiding a hint of relief from his friend. “I just really wanna make something nice for my mother while she’s visiting.” 

“That’s awfully nice of you, Marv,” Bob smiled.

“Plus,” Marvin added, “it’ll show her that I _do_ know how to cook a proper meal and that I’m _not_ living off of whatever’s in the vending machines.”

Bob chuckled as Marvin reached in his pocket for his key. “When’s she coming in?” 

“I don’t know for sure…” Marvin pulled out his key and turned it into the lock. “I think I still have a few hours to get the place all cleaned up and dinner at least started.”

On a typical day, Marvin’s apartment reflected the amount of time he spent studying versus the amount of time he spent cleaning; however, to his and Bob’s astonishment, he opened the door to find a tidy living space. Papers, books, dishes, and laundry (clean or dirty, it was hard to tell them apart sometimes) that once laid scattered around the room were now either stacked neatly on a table or cleaned and put away, and his pull-out couch was made.

“My apartment!” he exclaimed, almost dropping his groceries. “It’s… spotless?”

“Wow!” Bob said, setting down the bags he carried on the recently-cleared table. “Gosh, I’ve never seen it this… well, _livable_.”

“This can’t be my apartment!” Marvin set down his own bags and looked around to make sure.

Bob eyed him. “Marvin, be reasonable—your key wouldn’t fit into someone else’s door, now would it?”

“You’re right,” he replied, “someone must have broken in!” 

Before Bob could calm down his irrational friend, the front door opened again. Both men turned to see a woman around Bob’s age with wavy, dark hair and deep brown eyes holding a basket of more clean laundry. As Bob laid his eyes on her, a hint of familiarity flickered in his mind, outside of her resemblance to Marvin.

“Ma?” Marvin responded as he approached his mother. “What are you doing here so soon? How’d you get in?”

“I wanted to surprise you! I took the day off so I could get here sooner!” she answered, giving him a long hug. “You weren’t home when I arrived, so I picked out your spare key from under the mat and helped myself inside.”

“I can see that,” Marvin said, gesturing to the state of the apartment.

She chuckled. “I couldn’t help myself. I don’t know how you lived in that pigsty…” She stopped as she registered Bob’s presence and set down the basket. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize you’d be bringing someone over. Are you here to fix the sink?”

Marvin laughed. “No, Ma, that’s just Bob—he’s one of my friends from school.” 

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry!” she said, embarrassed. “I thought—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Bob chuckled. “I’m not quite your average college _kid_ —even some of my professors are younger than me.” He extended his hand to her. “I’m Bob Wilcox.”

She hesitated slightly. “Bob Wilcox?” she breathed. “I thought you looked familiar…” 

Bob concentrated further on her face as her features, like puzzle pieces in his mind, began fitting into place in his memories.

“I’m sure you wouldn’t remember me,” Marvin’s mother said, almost shyly. “I go by Suzanne now, but I used to go by—” 

“Suzy Thompson!” Bob exclaimed in sync with her before they embraced. “Gosh, it’s been… at least twenty years! Gee, you look terrific!”

“Thanks… so do you.”

“Wait, how do you two know each other?” Marvin asked.

“We went to college together,” Suzanne explained, her eyes still on Bob. 

“No kiddin’?”

“Imagine that,” Bob smiled, “we take the same anatomy class, and some twenty-odd years later, I’m taking anatomy with your son! Isn’t that something?”

“It sure is…” Suzanne agreed.

Bob placed his hands on his hips. “Gosh, Suzy Thompson… Well, excuse me, _Suzanne Susman_ , now.”

“Actually, it’s still Thompson,” Suzanne admitted. “Marvin’s father and I separated years ago.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Bob said, gritting his teeth slightly. “Marvin did mention that… I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

“Oh, don’t be,” Suzanne said, waving it off.

“Yeah, and besides, who needs him?” Marvin stepped in and wrapped an arm around Suzanne. “We make a pretty great team on our own, don’t we, Ma?” 

Suzanne smiled softly at him and hugged him tight. “We sure have…” 

“Well, time sure does fly fast.” Bob looked at his watch. “Speaking of which, I gotta head home, but we oughta get coffee or something, catch up!” 

Suzanne nodded. “Of course.” 

After Bob said his goodbyes and left, Marvin placed his hands on his hips. “You know, of all the crazy things I’ve seen at med school, I never would’ve thought I’d make friends with one of my _mother’s_ old friends.” He shook his head and made his way to the kitchen with the groceries. “How does spaghetti sound?”

Suzanne’s smile faded quietly, her eyes still glued to the door. Bob Wilcox. He really hadn’t changed much after those twenty-odd years—he was just as handsome and charming as she remembered. His smile and laugh, as small as it was minutes earlier, sent shivers down her spine. And as wonderful as he was, throughout that time, she never dreamed of the day she’d see him again; as a matter of fact, she had hoped the day would never come.


	2. Studying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin comes to Bob's place to study, but learns much more than he wanted to.

The next day, Bob sat at his table ready to work on a project. His notes and books were open to the pages necessary for the assignment—all he needed now was Marvin. It usually wasn’t like him to be this late, but knowing Suzanne was visiting, whatever was keeping him was probably important.

“You boys are welcome to have some cookies once they’ve cooled,” Ellie informed him as she grabbed her keys and purse. She was on her way to pick up their daughter, Pam, from a friend’s house.

“Thanks honey,” he replied when she kissed him goodbye.

“Just make sure to save some for us,” she teased. 

“All right, we’ll try.”

After Ellie left, Bob waited once more for Marvin to arrive. He looked through their assignment for any parts he could complete on his own until the oven timer went off. Upon hearing the _ping!_ , he slid on oven mitts to take out the cookies and let them cool on the counter. 

Minutes went by, and there was still no sign of Marvin. Bob eyed the sweets on the counter. “Don’t mind if I do,” he said to himself as he reached for a cookie; however, the sharp, hot pain from the pan warned him that he hadn’t waited long enough for them to cool. “ _Egh!_ ” he gritted through his teeth, swiping his burnt fingers back. He ran them under cold water to help numb the pain. He looked back at the cookies. “All right, all right, no cookies for me then…” he said defeatedly. 

Soon after, the elevator buzzed, and moments later, the door opened.

“Is that you, Marv?” Bob asked, drying his hands.

“Yeah, Bob,” Marvin replied, parking his bike near Bob’s.

Bob set down the towel and walked back to the table. “I was wondering if you’d ever get here.”

“Sorry I’m late,” Marvin grumbled, taking out his papers and books from his bike basket. “My mother wouldn’t get off my back about my dishes… I told her I’d take care of them when I got home, but no! She wouldn’t let me go out the door without cleaning them! Why do mothers have to be so… so…” 

“Motherly?” Bob suggested.

“Exactly!” Marvin exclaimed. “Why can’t she get it in her head that I’m not just some dopey little kid anymore? I’m an adult! A _man!_ ” Suddenly, the smell and sight of cookies tempted his senses. “Are those cookies? Can I have some? Got any milk to go with ‘em?” 

Bob chuckled and nodded towards the kitchen. “Help yourself. Just make sure they’re not too hot.” Marvin jumped over to grab out a glass, a carton of milk, and the now-cooled cookies and brought them to the table. 

“Mothers don’t start out that way, you know," he said.

“No kiddin’?” Marvin responded sarcastically, pouring himself a glass. “I can only imagine my mother coming into this world nagging about her previously cramped living arrangements.”

“She was awfully friendly when we got to your apartment yesterday.”

“That’s the thing—she acts sweet and friendly when she knows other people are around, but once they leave, _boom!_ Mother mode.”

“That’s certainly not how I remember her,” Bob said, taking a bite out of his cookie. 

“What do you mean?” Marvin ate his snack and listened curiously.

“Well, I can’t say that I really _knew_ her that well,” Bob admitted. “I sat in the back of the class, so for the most part, I only ever saw her from afar. In class, she was pretty studious. She still stayed on top of her work, answered questions, asked questions…”

“ _That’s_ my mother,” Marvin groaned as he took another cookie.

“But outside of class…” Bob continued, a hint of mischief in his eyes, “...now _that_ was a different story...”

“You mean my mother had a social life? Like a _real_ social life?” Marvin asked incredulously.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Bob responded. “She and her friends would sneak into frat parties all the time.”

“In that case, you must have gone to some _boring_ parties…” 

“I’m serious, Marv! She really knew how to have a good time!”

Marvin eyed Bob doubtfully. “Unless your definition of ‘having a good time’ is washing dishes, playing mahjong, and going to bed at 8 o’clock sharp, there’s _no_ way we’re talking about the same woman.”

“Believe me, Marvin, we’re talking about the same woman.”

Marvin shook his head. “I don’t buy it. I just can’t picture my mother enjoying herself at a frat party, of all places.” 

“I certainly can; I remember it like it was yesterday… The Alpha-Beta-Pi end-of-the-year party.” Bob’s excitement grew as he delved more and more into the story. “We got caught up in some drinking game, I forget which one—one of the guys made it up, I think. But Suzy and her friends were up against me, Freddie Hartigan1, and some other guy—Rick! That was his name... We didn’t know all the rules, so we made up a lot of them as we went along. We kept tying, and tying, and in the end we were so bombed it grew less important who won, but the next thing I know Suzy and I were upstairs in Rick’s room—” 

At that moment, the rest of his sentence fully sank in. He looked at his friend and realized he didn’t need to say the rest of the words—they’d sunken in for Marvin too. His shocked, paling face said it all.

“—studying!” Bob exclaimed immediately, hoping to fix whatever damage he’d made. “That’s right! That’s—That’s what we were up to! _Studying!_ ” He laughed nervously in hopes it would hide his embarrassment and encourage Marvin to laugh it off as well. “It was the _weirdest_ night! We—We talked all about our upcoming final during the game and, _somehow_ , from there, decided we needed to study! S-So we went upstairs—” 

“I can’t _believe_ this!” Marvin declared, jumping out of his chair. “ _You?!_ And my _mother?! My_ mother?! You… You…” 

“ _Studied!_ ” Bob persisted once again. “We did great on the final!”

“Oh, sure, I bet you studied _each others’_ anatomies real swell!” Marvin responded. He immediately regretted this, however, as the image of his mother and his best friend intensified. “What am I _saying?_ ” He started pacing around the room, holding his head, trying to erase it from his mind.

“Look, Marv, it was _twenty years ago!_ ” Bob insisted, getting up after him. “How was I supposed to know you’d be her kid someday?” 

“I don’t know…” Marvin sighed, agitated by the situation. “It’s just… it feels so… so… _unclean!_ ” 

“ _You’re_ the one who wanted to know more about your mother…” 

“But I didn’t want to know _that_ much! _Jeez,_ Bob! You and my _mother!_ ”

Bob sighed. “Look, if you makes you feel any better, it was _one_ time, _one_ night, just _once_ … After that, she graduated, and I never saw her again.” 

Marvin stopped in his place and turned back to Bob. “Wait a second… This happened right before she graduated?” 

“Yeah,” Bob answered, unsure where this was going. “Why?” 

After a moment of mental math mixed with counting on his fingers, Marvin’s face went almost as white as their papers. “Oh, _God_ no…” He scrambled to grab his book and papers from the table and stuff them into his bike basket. 

“Marvin, what’s wrong? Where are you going?” Bob asked, concerned. 

“I need to have a long talk with my mother…” He looked as though he were about to hurl and slapped the elevator button down.

“You don’t need a detailed account of what happened from _her,_ do you?”

“What happened? What _happened?_ Oh, I’ll tell _you_ what _happened_ — _I_ happened!” 

“What the hell are you talking about?” 

“I’m talking, nine months after graduation, _boom! I happened!_ ” Marvin slid inside and closed the door.

Bob’s eyes widened as his words registered. “Now wait a minute, _wait a minute!_ Marvin, stop! Hold up!” Bob turned and grabbed his bike, but Marvin was already on his way down. Bob desperately banged on the door, as though it would somehow magically raise the elevator back up to his floor again, but it was no use—he’d just have to wait and hope he could catch up to him by the time he got outside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1Freddie Hartigan is the dean of the medical school, an old friend of Bob's from college, introduced in the last episode "The Son of the Campus Capers".


	3. A Moment of Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin and Bob head off to talk to Suzanne about Marvin's realization.

On the ride to Marvin’s apartment, Bob thought over the possibility that Marvin’s implications were correct. He thought about the occasional mannerism the two shared, their similar tastes, their appearances… But plenty of people develop mannerisms based off of their friends all the time, and commonalities typically make friendships stronger. That didn’t automatically make them somehow _related_. 

As for appearances… well, that was just coincidental. Besides, the only person that pointed out their physical resemblance (as far as he knew) was Freddie Hartigan. _Freddie assumed Marvin was my son the first time he saw him_ , he reminded himself1. _Could he have known something I didn’t? Even back in college?_ “Take it easy, Bob, you’re making yourself paranoid,” he told himself. But the thoughts wouldn’t stop lingering…

By the time he got to the apartment, he somehow managed to catch up to Marvin. He huffed down the hall with his bike as his friend hurriedly opened the door to his apartment. “Marvin, wait!” Bob called out, but Marvin ignored him; however, he was still able to slip through the door before it closed on him.

“I don’t want to talk to _you_ about this!” Marvin nearly yelled to Bob, clearly still upset over their last conversation. 

Suzanne, standing against the couch and picking up another one of his shirts to fold, looked concerned. “What’s going on?”

“Bob told me all about the ‘studying’ you two did in college!” Marvin spat.

Suzanne dropped the shirt. “You told him about the _library?!_ ”

Bob looked at her puzzled for a moment until realization hit. “That was _you_ …” he nodded slowly, his eyes widening.

“The _library?!_ ” Marvin exclaimed, completely horrified by the new image.

“Well, we got kicked out of Rick’s room...” Bob admitted, trying to piece together the rest of that evening. “...so we wandered out of the house and noticed someone forgot to lock up the library next door…” 

“Why would you tell him something as personal as that?!” Suzanne demanded, walking towards Bob. 

“Look, Suzy—er, _Suzanne_ ,” Bob corrected softly, “I’m sorry… I was telling him a bit about old times and it… it just slipped out, honest!”

“My past… _relationships_ are none of his business, and certainly aren’t for _you_ to discuss with him!” Suzanne responded.

“Oh, but _this_ one just might be _my_ business, too!” Marvin jumped in.

Suzanne turned to her son. “What are you talking about?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Bob laughed nervously. “Yeah, you see… Marvin’s got this idea that… This _crazy_ idea… and, you’re probably gonna _laugh_ when I say it…” Suzanne only stared at him, far from laughing. “He said that… Well, because of the timing of our… uh… _encounters_ … he thinks there’s a chance that he could be… that _I_ could be…” He motioned to the three of them. “That _we_ could be… uh… you know?”

Marvin closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jeez Louise…” he cursed, shaking his head.

Suzanne sighed and looked away from both men. “You want to know if he’s your son,” she said simply.

“See, I told you, it’s crazy!” Bob replied, but Suzanne didn’t react. She walked to the couch and grabbed a hold of one of the cushions, her head low. He swallowed hard. “Isn’t it?”

Suzanne remained quiet for a few more moments as she brushed her fingers across Marvin’s shirts.

“The math… the math adds up, Ma…” Marvin said softly. “I need an explanation for that. And now that I know it was more than once…” 

Suzanne gripped on one of the shirts and bit her lip. She sat down, taking a deep breath. “I can explain,” she said, setting one on her lap. “The truth is… I don’t know. Your father and I had an argument. It was the end of the semester, graduation was coming up, and we were stressed out of our minds. We had fights before, but none like this. I thought that we were really over this time. I was so angry with him…” She shook her head as she remembered, absentmindedly feeling where her wedding band once rested on her finger years before. 

“My friends convinced me to come out to the party, to get my mind off of everything.” She glanced up at Bob. “That’s when I saw Bob. I recognized him from class and we got friendly. Very friendly. The more we played that… _stupid_ game, the more we drank, and the more we drank, the friendlier we got. And of course, one thing led to another…” She blushed and looked away. Bob blushed as well, shifting in place slightly.

She brought her head back down to Marvin’s shirt. “I felt so guilty when I woke up the next morning. I came home to find your father completely distressed. He was so worried that I hadn’t returned until then. We talked, we made up, simple as that. And our making up led to some… _celebrating_...” Her face grew pinker.

“And then… I happened.” Marvin said.

She looked at him sadly. “Don’t you dare say it like that. I was absolutely ecstatic when I found out I was pregnant you! And I couldn’t imagine starting a family with anyone else but your father. But in the back of my mind…” She looked down. “I _knew_ there was a chance you were Bob’s baby. But I couldn't risk it. I couldn’t risk losing the man I loved, the relationship we’d built back together. And I didn’t really _know_ Bob, I didn’t even know where to find him after graduation. I figured I’d never see him ever again. Besides, there was still a chance he _wasn’t_ your father, so what was the point? I convinced myself it didn’t matter and that we would all be a happy family regardless. No one needed to know what happened.”

After another moment of silence, Marvin spoke up. “So you never told Dad?”

She sighed. “I didn’t want to tell him, not at first,” she confessed. “But I couldn’t keep it from him. Of course he was upset, but he insisted that everything would be just fine. That he loved me too much to let me go. That even if you weren’t his child, he would raise you and love you as his own. I really believed we could make it work.” She looked at her ringless finger and added quietly, “But not everything turns out as you plan.” She let out a small cry. “I’m… I’m so, so sorry, Marvin. I never thought...”

Marvin swallowed hard and shook his head. “I can’t do this right now.” He grabbed his bike and went out the door.

“Marvin, wait,” Bob started, but Marvin wasn’t listening anymore.

Suzanne stood and silently watched her son leave the apartment, reaching her arm out as though she could pull him back into the room.

“Marvin!” Bob tried again, approaching the door before it closed.

“He needs time,” Suzanne said shakily. At that moment, she fell back into the couch and broke into tears. 

Bob looked at her as she cried into Marvin’s shirt, unsure of what to say. He understood her reasoning, but couldn’t help but feel he’d been cheated out on, especially after getting to know Marvin. “If you did know for sure he wasn’t his father,” he asked eventually, “and you knew how to find me… Would you?”

Suzanne closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was a silence between them before she finally spoke up. “I don’t know.” 

Bob let her answer sink in and nodded. “I’m sorry,” was all he managed to say before he turned away and walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1In the episode "The Son of the Campus Capers", Freddie Hartigan comes to dinner at Bob's. Marvin stops by to retrieve a notebook, and Freddie's initial reaction upon meeting him is that Marvin is Bob's son:  
> F: "Well, Bob, you don't have to tell us who this is—looks like a chip off the ol' block, he's the spitting image of you, Bob!"  
> B: "Marvin? No no, that's Marvin Susman, he's one of my classmates."  
> F: "Still, the resemblance is incredible..."  
> It's never brought up again, and I just thought it was such an odd bit of dialogue to throw in without doing anything else with it. My overthinking of the sequence is what inspired this fic to begin with.


	4. Telling Ellie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Worried about Marvin, Bob comes home to tell Ellie what happened.

Bob came home with both a heavy heart and a heavy mind. So much information from the past hour or so (though it felt much longer) was still sinking into him. He pitied Suzanne but was still upset about their situation, particularly their last interaction. But most of all, he was worried about Marvin. Even though he didn’t know for sure who his father was, he felt as though he’d betrayed him somehow. He spent a slightly longer time riding home as he found himself searching for his friend, wanting to make sure he was safe.

As he stepped into the apartment, he glanced over at his happy family sitting at the table. Ellie appeared to be helping Pam with an assignment. Would they think of him any different if they knew? Ellie was an understanding and loving woman, but could something like this push her too far? And what about Pam?

The two turned to him with a smile. “There you are!” Ellie said. “We were wondering where you boys went.” At that moment, she realized Bob was alone. “Did Marvin go home?”

Bob nodded, trying to brush off his negativity. “He, uh, had to work on… something… with, um… something,” he lied, his brain unable to unscramble a coherent excuse.

Ellie exchanged a confused look with Pam as Bob put his bike away. She watched him grip the bike, his back facing them, and take a deep breath, his head low. “Pam, sweetie, would you mind finishing that in your room?” she murmured.

Pam nodded and collected her schoolwork without a word, glancing at her father as she made her way to her room.

Once Pam left, Ellie walked to Bob, who was still standing with his bike. “Honey, what’s wrong?” she asked.

Bob, deep in thought, snapped up, slightly startled by her approach. “Sorry, what did you say, hon?”

Ellie eyed her husband, concerned. “Bob, I know something’s wrong.”

Bob’s face fell. _Could she possibly know...?_ his paranoia tempted. “You do?”

“I think that’s the longest face I’ve ever seen on you,” she replied. “What’s going on? Did something happen between you and Marvin?”

Bob took another deep breath. “Look, honey, you’re gonna want to sit down for this,” he said in a low voice, and slowly guided her to the couch. As she sat down, he began pacing, unsure how he was going to begin this conversation.

“Bob, you’re starting to scare me,” Ellie said after a few moments of silence, watching him walk around the room. “I feel like more and more recently you’ve had me sit down for bad, or at least _semi_ -bad news. But this time… I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so distraught…”

Bob continued pacing and stopped as he gathered his thoughts some more. He decided maybe he needed to sit down as well.

“Ellie…”

“Yes, Bob?” She took one of his hands, hoping it would offer at least some moral support.

Bob smiled weakly at her gesture and looked down at his own hands. “I told you yesterday that I… _knew_ Suzanne back in college.”

Ellie looked at Bob, slightly puzzled. “Yes, you told me that yesterday—you both took the same anatomy class…” 

“Well,” Bob continued, “the thing is… I didn’t tell you everything.”

“What do you mean?”

Bob hesitated with his answer. “We… may have shared some… _moments_ … together…”

Ellie stared at him in disbelief. “Is _that_ all? You paced around the room and had me worried over a _college fling?_ ” She scoffed as she let go of his hands and stood up. “Bob, we’ve gone over this! You’ve had some college flings, so what? I don’t care how many women you slept with before you knew me, and, quite frankly, I don’t really wanna know!”

“It’s more than just _that_!” Bob snapped. He took a moment to compose himself. “It’s Marvin…” 

“Let me guess,” Ellie said, taking a few steps towards the kitchen, “Marvin found out somehow, and now things are a bit weird between—”

“Marvin may be the product of that fling.”

Ellie stopped and turned back to him. “What?” She walked and sat back down next to him. “The… _product?_ ” Bob bowed his head slightly lower. “You don’t mean—”

“He might be my…” Bob hesitated, “...And I might be his… God, I can’t even _say_ it!”

Ellie was speechless. “Oh my god, Bob…”

Bob explained the situation to Ellie, from the night at the party twenty-three years ago to Marvin storming out the door of his apartment an hour before. “I can see it both ways,” he admitted. “I wasn’t always quite as careful back then when it came to, you know… _intimacy_ … and I can see a lot of similarities between us, but that could just be a coincidence. Either way, I feel awful for Marvin. If I am his… his… well, if I _am_ , then I’ve missed out on the first twenty-one years of his life. If I’m not, I still put him in this mess. Why couldn’t I have just kept my big mouth shut?”

“Would you rather not know?”

Bob sighed. “I don’t know… I guess I just wish things were the way they were before.” 

Ellie bit her lip. “What are you gonna do?” 

“I don’t know,” Bob said. “What _can_ I do? I wanna leave him be, you know, give him space, let him cool down… he deserves at least _that_ much… but I also wanna check on him. He can do real stupid stuff when he’s upset… Like the time some girl broke his heart and he ate a whole tub of ice cream.” 

Ellie smiled ruefully. “I’ve done that myself. That’s not _too_ stupid.” 

Bob glanced at her and cocked an eyebrow. “Were you still in the store when you did it?” 

Ellie shook her head. “Can’t say I went _that_ far…” 

Bob smiled softly at the memory but it soon faded as the most recent events came back to him. He shook his head. “I don’t know what to do, Ellie. I just… I wish she could have told me… I wish I could have known.” 

Ellie thought for a moment. “Maybe… Maybe it was for the best that she didn’t try to tell you back then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, for one thing, there’s no way you could have known for sure who his father was… What could you have done? How would a couple and a separate, _maybe_ biological father all raise a baby?”

“I’m sure we could have figured _something_ out…” 

“Okay, now let’s say he _is_ your son— _really_ stop to think about it… How old were you when this happened?”

“I’d just turned twenty.”

“Do you really think you would’ve been old enough to raise a baby?”

“Of course I would have!” he retorted. “My parents were having kids when they were twenty!” 

“I know,” Ellie said, “but would _you_ have? I mean, would you have been _mature_ enough to handle raising a baby?”

Bob stared at his hands for a moment and shrugged. “Maybe.”

Ellie eyed him. “Really?”

Bob sighed. Outside of his studies, much of his college memories were stupid pranks and stunts he pulled with his friends, the games they played in their spare time, the occasional hook-up. “Maybe not.”

“Did you have a job to support a baby?”

Bob shook his head. “Not exactly… I worked as a bartender for a short time, but that was it.” 

“And how would you have raised him? Suzanne was practically a stranger to you, I can’t imagine you’d somehow manage to raise him together. And even if you did, would it have been out of love, or out of convenience?”

Bob bit his lip. Could there have possibly been any real sparks between them outside of their drunken bliss that would’ve led to something more? Or would they have raised Marvin apart? Before Ellie, he couldn’t picture himself settling down for a long-term relationship, let alone a family. The women he engaged with were typically one-night stands he’d met at parties, and it wasn’t until he fell for Ellie years later that he realized he’d wanted something serious. “I don’t really know.” 

“Then maybe it was for the best,” Ellie repeated, taking his hands. “Not to say that how things did turn out were all that _great_ , but… it doesn’t sound like it could have been much better either way.” 

“Maybe you’re right,” Bob sighed. “Maybe it wouldn’t have worked out well whichever way you look at it. But I still can’t help but feel guilty about it.” 

“This isn’t your fault,” Ellie said. “You couldn’t have known if she never told you.” 

“I know that, but… I feel like I’ve let him down. He’s one of my best friends, El… I don’t wanna lose him, especially not now.” He stood up and started to make his way to the door. “Maybe I should look for him again—”

Before Ellie could stop him, the telephone rang. She walked over to answer it as Bob grabbed his jacket. “Hello?” She looked at Bob as the caller responded. “May I ask who’s calling?” she asked. Her breath hitched for a moment. “Suzanne Thompson?”

Bob immediately stopped and looked at Ellie, who was staring at him from where she stood. He dropped his jacket and walked over to take the phone. She gave it to him and stepped away slightly, unsure how much space to give them.

Bob hesitated as he raised the receiver to his ear. “Suzanne?” 

Ellie watched from afar as Bob’s body relaxed, overcome with relief. “Thank God…” he said. “I tried looking for him when I left, but… well, I suppose it doesn’t matter now.” There was a brief pause before he spoke again. “Can I talk to him?” He nodded and looked down. “I see… It’s all right… Thank you for letting me know.” 

He hung up the phone and turned to Ellie. “He came home safely.”

Ellie didn’t need to know who “he” was. “That’s great,” she replied, embracing him tightly. “That’s great to hear.” 

“It is,” Bob agreed. “It really is.” 

They stood there holding each other before Bob spoke again. “Suzanne left soon after he came home. He’s still pretty sore.”

“I can imagine so,” Ellie replied. “He just needs to blow off some steam, think things over, process…”

“What if he never finishes?”

Ellie sighed and looked at him. “Look, what happened in the past happened, and we can’t change any of that. There’s no use in stressing over ‘what-if’s. What’s important right now is just that: _right now_. This isn’t necessarily the easiest thing for someone to get over, so I doubt it’ll all pass overnight. Maybe things won’t be exactly the same as they were before, but I’m sure you both can work it out together when you’ve had enough space.” Bob nodded solemnly, dropping his head. She took his hands back into her own. “But… Look at me Bob, look.” He turned his head back up towards her as she fixed her eyes within his. “No matter what happens, I’m right here for you, do you hear me?” 

Bob smiled sadly at her and pulled her in for another hug as tears began to fall. “I love you so much, Ellie,” he whispered. 

“I love you too,” she replied.

The two held each other tightly for several minutes as Bob’s heavy heart felt just a little bit lighter.


	5. A Little Push in the Right-ish Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mallory, Schmidt, & Hornbeck notice something's going on between Bob and Marvin and decide to take action.

For the next few days, Marvin kept his distance from Bob. Their only real interactions were through anything related to their classes together. They’d sometimes be seen together with their other friends, but Marvin typically ignored Bob when possible and often left the group early, unless Bob himself had to leave. Bob, on the other hand, desperately wanted to talk to Marvin and try to reconcile their friendship, but made little attempt in fear he’d push him too far and ruin things for good.

Their friends started to notice their avoidance (well, mainly Marvin’s avoidance of Bob), but figured that whatever it was that went on between them would blow over soon enough and that they didn’t need to intervene.

That is, until they did.

“Any of you guys notice Bob and Susman actin’ off lately?” Mallory asked Hornbeck and Schmidt, who were sitting in the lounge. 

“Whatever it is, it’s their business,” Hornbeck said without taking his eyes away from his textbook. 

“Yeah, it’s probably nothing,” Schmidt replied. 

“But what if it’s not?” Mallory said, pacing slightly. “I really think somethin’ happened between them.” He took a brief puff of his cigar.

“You’re starting to sound like Marvin,” Schmidt groaned. “And look like him too, pacing around.”

“See, that’s the thing,” Mallory said, pointing at Schmidt. “If Susman’s not goin’ on about _his_ problems, it’s Bob’s. And now he won’t even say a _word_ to him! And Bob’s been lookin’ terrible lately—they both have.”

Hornbeck turned around in his chair. “We’re _all_ gonna look terrible if we don’t study for our quizzes coming up!” 

Mallory took a hold of Hornbeck’s shoulder a bit roughly. “Hornbeck, you’ve probably memorized that whole chapter by now. I think you have a little time to help a guy or two out.” 

Hornbeck sighed. “Fine, but if I flunk this quiz—”

“I’ll never hear the end of it,” Mallory rolled his eyes. “I know, I know, now sit on it. I’m tellin’ ya, we gotta do somethin’ about this.”

“But what can _we_ do?” Schmidt asked. “It’s between them, not us.”

“Look,” Mallory said, tapping ashes into an ashtray, “alls I’m sayin’ is that those guys are close, right? Lookin’ out for each other, right?” 

“Right,” Hornbeck and Schmidt agreed together.

“And we’re all pretty close, right?”

“Right!”

“And we all gotta look out for each other too, right?”

Hornbeck and Schmidt sighed. “Right…”

“So here’s what I’m thinkin’...” Mallory began, sticking his cigar in the side of his mouth to drag out a chair and step one leg onto it. “Bob should be here any minute. Schmidt, you talk to him. Be casual. Try to get whatever information you can outta him.” 

“No can do,” Schmidt said, looking at the clock. “I have class in fifteen minutes, I gotta head out.” 

“Fine. Be that guy,” Mallory complained as Schmidt gathered his books and left. “Be that guy who cares more about his grades than his friends!” Once Schmidt was out the door, Mallory rushed over right outside the doorway and shouted down the hallway, “Be a _Hornbeck!_ ”

“ _Hey!_ ” Hornbeck called, jumping out of his chair. “I do _not_ care about my grades more than my friends!” 

“Good,” Mallory replied, patting his shoulder, “then it’s up to you, babe. Talk to Bob, get any information out of him, and report back to us tomorrow, got it?” 

“Got it!” Hornbeck nodded for a moment. “Now wait a minute, what are you gonna do then?”

“Me? I got a hot date to tend to. Good luck! You’ll do great!” And with that, Mallory was out the door. 

“Wait a minute, Mallory! _Mallory!_ ” Hornbeck stepped out to shout out to his escaping friend, but bumped into Bob instead. “Oh, hey Bob.”

“What was that about?” Bob asked, puzzled.

“Oh, nothing,” Hornbeck muttered. “I, uh… thought he took my notebook.” 

“Isn’t that it right there?” Bob pointed to the notebook sitting on the table where he left it. 

“So it is, look at that,” Hornbeck said, picking it up. “So, uh… how’s it going?”

“Could be worse,” Bob shrugged. The bags under his eyes said otherwise; he hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since… well, since before Suzanne visited. 

Hornbeck nodded and bit his lip, trying to strategize a way to get him to talk.

“Have you studied for that anatomy quiz tomorrow?” Bob asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Don’t you usually study with Susman?” Hornbeck asked.

“Oh, well, yeah, but… he’s busy,” Bob lied.

“Uh huh.”

“Oh, who am I kidding,” Bob chuckled tiredly. “I'm _really_ out of it today—of course _you’ve_ already studied.”

“Well, yeah…” Hornbeck said, “...but I’m always up for extra studying.” 

“Thanks Hornbeck, you’re a real pal,” Bob smiled. 

The two settled themselves down at a table. Hornbeck took a few moments to look through the chapter for a good question to quiz Bob.

“Let’s see… Uh… Okay, got it… A patient has a fracture. The radius is bent, but not displaced, and the skin is still intact. What type of fracture is it?”

Hornbeck looked up at Bob for his answer, but Bob wasn’t listening. His head was slumped forward, his eyes closed. 

“Bob?” Hornbeck said a bit louder. “Bob!” 

Bob jerked himself awake in his chair. “Spleen!” he yelled out, hoping it was somewhere close to the right answer.

“ _Spleen?_ ” Hornbeck exclaimed. “Boy, you weren't kidding when you said you were out of it!”

“I’m sorry, Hornbeck,” Bob sighed. “I haven’t gotten much sleep lately.”

“Is that so?” Hornbeck asked, seeing an opening to the plan that was sprung upon him minutes ago. “You, uh… wanna talk about it?”

“No, no,” Bob said, trying to brush it off. 

“Are you sure? I’m a real good listener, Bob.”

“It’s nothing, really. Let’s get back to studying”

“Sure it’s not something to do with school… or home… or Susman?”

Bob’s head shot up at the mentioning of Marvin. “Marvin? What about Marvin?”

“Nothing,” Hornbeck said, innocently. “Things just seem a bit… _off_ with you two, lately.”

“You… You think so?” Bob rubbed his chin. He didn’t think they were _that_ obvious about it. 

“I know so,” Hornbeck insisted. “Susman’s ticked off at you. He’s been that way for days now. Hasn’t said a word why to us. But if _you_ wanna talk about it, get it off your chest... maybe I can help somehow.”

Bob sucked in his breath. He couldn’t tell him what was _really_ going on, but he couldn’t find a way to get out of saying nothing. Unless…

“I guess you got a point,” he responded eventually. “The truth is…” he thought hard for a moment for some sort of excuse. What would Hornbeck believe? “...I cheated on some of Marvin’s quizzes.”

“You _what?_ ” Hornbeck gasped. Thankfully, he was the only one around to hear it—academic dishonesty was frowned upon, after all, fabricated or not.

“I know, I know, it wasn’t my _crowning achievement_ ,” Bob answered. “I forgot to read the material, we had a few pop quizzes, and I gave into temptation.”

“Shame on you, Bob…” Hornbeck scolded, shaking his head. 

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right,” Bob nodded. “Anyway, Marvin found out and now he’s mad at me, like you said, and he won’t talk to me. But swear to me you won’t tell him I told you, all right?”

“All right,” Hornbeck muttered.

“Do you _swear?_ ”

“I swear, I swear.”

“Good. Now let’s get back to studying, I promise I’m more awake now.”

“Fine,” Hornbeck grumbled. “But one more thing.”

“What’s that?” Bob asked. 

“Remind me to never sit next to you in class again.”

“It’s a deal.”


	6. A Play on Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get slightly messy when Hornbeck, Mallory, and Schmidt try to talk to Marvin about what Bob told Hornbeck.

“He _what?_ ”

Schmidt and Mallory stared at Hornbeck in disbelief as he disclosed his conversation with Bob from the day before. The three were back in the lounge, their usual hang-out spot at the hospital.

“Are you sure _that’s_ why Susman’s givin’ him the cold shoulder?” Mallory asked.

“That’s what he told me,” Hornbeck replied. “Why would he lie? Besides, Susman’s a much better student than you guys realize. I’m not surprised he got real serious over this.”

“Yeah, but over _cheating?_ ” Schmidt asked. “I can see him being _annoyed_ over something like that, but not Antarctica-cold-shoulder-level.” 

“But Bob has to earn his grades fair and square!” Hornbeck argued. “Cheating is a crime, you know!” 

“Oh yeah?” Mallory responded, stepping right up against him. “Well what about those pranks you pulled on us last month when you tried to _flunk_ us out? You never did tell us what you did with Bob’s cadaver that you _stole_...”

Hornbeck went quiet. “Okay, maybe Susman _is_ overreacting a bit… But I still think Bob’s telling the truth.” 

“If you say so,” Schmidt replied. “So now what?”

“Now," Mallory answered, stepping away, "we talk to Susman.”

“About what?” Hornbeck asked. “We can’t tell him we know, I swore secrecy!” 

“It’s the only way we get a move on things!” Mallory exclaimed. “Over and done with, just like that! Rip off the ol’ Band-Aid! They’ll thank us later, trust me.” 

“Who’ll thank you later?” Marvin questioned as he walked into the lounge. 

The other three looked at one another. 

“What?” Marvin said.

“Look, Susman, I’ll cut to the chase,” Mallory said, stepping forward. “We know what’s goin’ on between you and Bob.” 

Marvin eyed them. “What do you mean?”

“Hornbeck told us all about it,” Schmidt said. 

“ _Dammit_ , guys, I _told_ you I was _sworn_ to _secrecy_ by Bob!” Hornbeck whined. 

“Bob _told_ you?” Marvin exclaimed, feeling anger rise within.

Hornbeck tried to hide himself within his book. “It was their plan, not mine! Please, just keep me outta this, I never wanted to get involved…” 

“Susman, calm down, it’s not that big’a deal!” Mallory insisted. 

“ _Not that big’a deal?!_ ” Marvin repeated incredulously.

“Listen,” Mallory said, “people do stupid stuff all the time—that’s what makes the college experience!” 

“Yeah, and this sort of thing happens all the time!” Schmidt added. “Now that you mention it, I’m pretty sure he did it to _me_ last week!” 

Marvin stared at him in shock, unable to utter a coherent sentence. “ _Last week?_ You mean… Bob… and your… and… and you’re just… _okay_ with it?”

“...Yes?” Schmidt replied, unsure he understood the question entirely.

“Look,” Mallory inserted, seeing their conversation was going nowhere, “we know you’re mad at him and all, he betrayed your trust, whatever—can we just cut to you guys talkin’ to each other again? I mean, it was just that _one_ time!”

“ _Two_ times!” Marvin corrected, crossing his arms.

Mallory rolled his eyes. “Okay then, _two_ times. Either way, you’re still overreacting!”

“Well, you know what they say,” Hornbeck grumbled behind his book, “‘Once a cheater, always a cheater’...” 

Marvin shot his face towards Hornbeck. “What was that you said?”

Hornbeck looked up and away from the book. “You know that saying, don’t you? ‘Once a cheater, always a cheater’?”

At that moment, Marvin snapped. “How _dare_ you speak of my mother like _that!_ ” he shouted, lunging towards Hornbeck. 

“Your— _Hey_ , get off me!” Hornbeck yelped as Marvin knocked him out of his chair and pinned him to the floor. “What’d _I_ do?! _I_ never wanted to get involved in the first place!”

“Hey, cool it, Susman, _cool it!_ ” Mallory shouted as he and Schmidt grabbed a hold of him. The two managed to pull him off of Hornbeck, who, once released from Marvin’s grasp, scrambled off of the floor and ran out the door. 

“Let go of me!” Marvin yelled, kicking and fighting to get out of their grips. 

Bob rushed in, almost running into Hornbeck, as he heard the commotion unfold. “What the hell’s goin’ on in here?!” he demanded.

“ _You!_ ” Marvin exclaimed. “ _You son of a_ —” In his spit of rage, Marvin broke his arm away from his friends and launched his fist against Bob’s face. Bob lost his balance and fell back a bit, not expecting the aggressive action. 

“ _Marvin, stop!_ ” Schmidt shouted as he and Mallory grabbed him and held him back tighter. 

“What the _hell’s_ wrong with you?!” Mallory asked.

“How could you tell them?!” Marvin demanded. 

“What are you talking about?!” Bob asked. He registered the blood trickling from his throbbing nose and grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket to apply to his injury.

“Take it easy, Susman, it was just two quizzes!” Mallory exclaimed.

Marvin suddenly stopped moving and looked at Mallory. “Two… what?” 

Now aware of what they were talking about, Bob entered back in. “Okay, you got me,” he said, “I told Hornbeck about those quizzes.” 

Marvin stared at Bob blankly. “What—”

“He kept asking me why I wasn’t myself,” Bob explained before Marvin said too much, “so I told him the truth—that you were mad at me for _cheating_ off of you. And that I’ve felt guilty about it ever since.”

Realization hit Marvin slowly.

“I’m sorry, Marv, really, I am,” Bob said sincerely. “I feel like I let you down big time, and I hope you can forgive me.” 

“ _Students! Students!_ ” Assistant Dean Ingersoll dashed into the lounge, looking around for what caused the sudden uproar that had now quieted down. “What on _Earth_ is going on in here?” 

“I-I can explain—” Bob quickly answered.

Ingersoll stopped to take in the students in the room. “I _knew_ this had something to do with _you_ lot!” he exclaimed, mainly targeting his accusation towards Bob specifically. Of course they were involved, they _always_ were— _especially_ Wilcox. “You’re always getting into some type of shenanigans! I want someone to explain to me what _exactly_ is going on right _now!_ ”

“It’s all very simple—” Bob started.

“We do _not_ condone _violence_ in this university!” Ingersoll interrupted. “Punishment for such behavior _will_ be meted! Any and _all_ guilty parties _will_ be _suspended!_ ”

“Assistant Dean Ingersoll, there was no _real_ violence going on!” Bob argued. 

The other three looked among themselves, concerned by the threat of suspension, but also confused by Bob’s remark.

“What?!” Ingersoll questioned. “Then what was the all the shouting?! The _buffoonery?!_ And what sort of ‘non-violence’ has caused your sudden _epistaxis?!_ ” 

“Look, this is all a big misunderstanding!” Bob insisted. “It’s all part of a _play_ we’re doing.”

“A _play?_ ” Ingersoll responded skeptically. 

“That’s right!” Bob answered. “We wanted to liven things up by joining community theater down the street—right, fellas?”

“Right, right!” Mallory agreed.

“What he said!” Schmidt joined quickly. 

“Yeah, and we can’t all make it to rehearsal tonight, so we thought we’d try to practice the big fight scene in this room while we were all here, and Marvin hit me just a _little_ too hard.”

Assistant Dean Ingersoll looked among the men suspiciously. “Is this true, Mr. Susman?” he asked, seeing he was the only one not to speak throughout this interrogation.

“Yeah,” Marvin said quietly, not taking his eyes off of Bob. He turned to Ingersoll and put on a fake smile. “We were just practicing. Sorry if we got too loud.” 

Ingersoll frowned and hmphed. “Fine,” he grumbled, “I’ll let you off _this_ time… But next time, practice your fight scenes _elsewhere!_ ” He turned around with his nose held high in the air. Before he walked out the doorway, he turned back to them. “And do make sure to let me know when opening night is,” he said, a slight cynical tone in his voice. “I wouldn’t want to miss it.” 

“You got it!” Bob replied. And with that, Ingersoll was out the door and out of their hair.

“You okay, Bob?” Mallory asked.

“I’ll live,” Bob answered, examining the stain on his handkerchief before putting it back against his nose. “It should clear up soon.”

“That was some great thinking, but what are we gonna do about that ‘play’?” Schmidt asked. “We can’t write something up that quick, and Ingersoll’s not gonna forget about it.” 

“Easy,” Bob said cooly, “it’s theatre, we’ll tell him we don’t have enough funds to carry on.” 

Schmidt and Mallory had a laugh as Bob smiled. Marvin sat partially on a table and stared at his shoes. 

“You, uh,” Bob cleared his throat, approaching Marvin slowly, “you all right, Marv?” 

Marvin brought his head up. “Oh, yeah, just fine. I’m not the one who got punched… You should, uh… get some ice for that. I’ll go grab some.” 

“Are you sure?” Bob asked. 

Marvin nodded. “I’m sure.”

Mallory looked between them. “If we leave you two alone, no one’s gonna start rehearsin’ for that phony play again, are ya?”

Marvin shook his head. “No, we’ll be fine, honest.”

“If you say so,” Mallory responded. “Come along, Schmidty, our work here is done.” 

Mallory wrapped an arm around Schmidt as they walked out of the lounge to give Bob and Marvin space. Marvin then followed suit and went down the hall to find some ice as Bob awaited their next interaction.


	7. Finally Talking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marvin and Bob finally sit down to talk through their differences.

After Marvin returned, the two settled themselves on the couch back in the lounge. They sat in silence as Marvin stared at his shoes and Bob applied the ice to his nose. 

“Thanks for the ice,” Bob said finally. “It’s, uh… It’s really helping.”

Marvin nodded. “It’s the least I can do,” he replied. 

They sat quietly again for a few more moments.

“Look, Marv,” Bob spoke up again, setting down the ice on a side table, “I’m… I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be,” Marvin responded, looking up at his friend. “It’s not your fault. Besides, I’m the one who’s been acting like a complete jerk to you.” 

“Well maybe I deserve it. I still feel responsible for something,” Bob admitted. “Even if I’m not, you know… _related_ to you… I still put you through something you didn’t need to be in.”

“But maybe I did,” Marvin said. He looked back down. “My father left when I was nine. He and my mother fought a lot, and one day, he just… upped and left. I haven’t heard from him since. Ma said he found another woman and left us for her. I always wondered why he never tried to call or anything, why he cut _both_ of us off completely… Ma never could explain that. And I’ve just been ticked at him for years because of it. I just couldn’t believe he could cheat on my mother the way he did and just not _care_. She never deserved that. But then I find out she cheated on him first… with you.”

Bob sighed. “Marvin, I’m really—” 

“Let me finish,” Marvin interrupted. “I know you didn’t know her well. I know you didn’t have any real way to contact each other. And I’m not mad at you for that. That’s not fair to you. I guess… since he’s not here, and since I have no clue where to find him or any real _desire_ to do so… instead of taking it out on him, I took it out on you. And that’s _really_ not fair to you.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Bob responded.

“I’m fine now,” Marvin said. “It took a while, but I’m fine. And you know something? You know what I thought all those years? I thought he was just some huge jerk who didn’t care about his kid… but maybe he just got tired of seeing and raising someone else’s. I don’t look that much like him. I look much more like my mother. I’m practically the spitting image of her. Before last week, I never doubted he was my father, I just thought I got all my looks from my mother… but now I’m not so sure.”

Bob nodded slowly, taking in everything Marvin had said. “I don’t know who’d be crazy enough not to care about you, Marv,” he said, “who wouldn’t want to watch you grow up. You’re a great kid—a fine young man. I don’t know what kind of kid you were when you were younger, but from what I do know, and from what I’ve seen through the time we’ve known each other… if I _am_ your father…” Marvin looked up at Bob as he smiled. “I’d be proud to call you my son. I only wish I could have known you sooner.” 

Marvin grinned genuinely. “Thanks Bob.”

“You’re welcome,” Bob said in reply. “And no matter what we are to each other biologically, you’re a great friend. And I don’t wanna lose that.”

“Me neither. This week’s been terrible,” Marvin admitted.

“So can we put this behind us?” Bob asked. “Go back to how things were?”

Marvin nodded. “Yeah, I think so.” 

“Great,” Bob smiled. “I’m glad I know you, Marvin Susman.” He extended his hand out towards him.

“Me too,” Marvin responded. He took his hand and shook it, but instead of letting go, he pulled him in for a hug. Bob was surprised at first, but took it gratefully. It may have lasted only a few moments, but it was worth all they’d put themselves through throughout the past few days.

~*~*~

The next day, Marvin and Bob walked back into the lounge, talking about their upcoming anatomy quiz. 

“Hey, look at that! Susman and Wilcox, the dynamic duo, back in business!” Mallory exclaimed, shaking both of their hands.

“All thanks to you guys,” Marvin said. “If you hadn’t schemed your way into our business, we probably still wouldn’t be talking.”

“Hey, it’s no problem,” Schmidt said. “It was all Mallory’s idea.” 

“Well, I can’t take all the credit,” Mallory beamed. “It may have turned out messier than I planned on Hornbeck’s part, but all that matters is that you two’ve made up.”

“Speaking of Hornbeck, where is he?” Bob asked. “We have a quiz in half an hour.” 

At that moment, Hornbeck hobbled his way into the lounge on crutches, his ankle covered in bandages. 

“Hornbeck, what’s happened to you?” Bob asked with the other three, concerned. 

“Well,” Hornbeck answered as Schmidt helped him settle into a chair, slightly embarrassed, “after Susman _attacked_ me, I ran straight out of the building. I turned my head back for just a moment to make sure he wasn’t chasing me, when I tripped on the fountain and fell in.” 

The other three grimaced. “Ouch…” Mallory cringed.

“It’s just a fracture,” Hornbeck explained. “It’ll heal in six weeks or so.” 

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” They turned their heads as Assistant Dean Ingersoll made his way towards them. “Our five little troublesome thespians! When exactly did you say your little ‘production’ opening?” 

“We didn’t,” Bob said. “The thing is—”

“Oh, what’s this?” Ingersoll asked as he approached Hornbeck. “Another part of one of your ‘scenes’? I do hope you’ve gotten permission to borrow these crutches.” He leaned down to peer at the bandages. Hornbeck looked at the others for an explanation.

“I’ll explain later,” mouthed Bob. Hornbeck shrugged and played along. “Actually, Assistant Dean Ingersoll—” Bob said aloud.

“Not a bad job wrapping this ankle!” he declared. “I’m impressed! Though I suppose you all are aspiring doctors… Still, job well done! If I hadn’t known this was for a play, I would’ve believed this were _real!_ ” He emphasized the last word by giving Hornbeck’s ankle a nice slap.

“ _YOUCH!_ ” Hornbeck howled out in pain immediately after.

“Careful! What do you think you’re doing?!” Mallory demanded. “This man is hurt!” 

“ _Hurt?!_ ” Ingersoll choked out, suddenly alarmed. “I-I thought—”

“He tripped on the fountain!” Bob exclaimed. “That’s what I was just about to tell you—he was supposed to play the lead, but now that he’s injured, we won’t be able to put on the show!” 

“Oh, dear, Mr. Hornbeck, I am _so_ terribly sorry!” Ingersoll sputtered, completely flabbergasted. 

“Come on, Hornbeck, let’s find a nurse to make sure nothing _else_ went wrong with your ankle,” Schmidt said, helping him again with his crutches. 

“I never wanted to even get _involved!_ ” Hornbeck cried on their way out. Ingersoll followed them, apologizing along the way.

“What a crazy bunch we hang out with,” Bob mused once the others left the room.

“You know, I’m almost sad we’re not actually doing a play,” Marvin said. 

“Really?” Bob asked. “How come?” 

“‘Cause you would have been spot on as the role of my father,” he replied with a smile.

Bob grinned and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. 

“Hey, you know something? You two _do_ kinda look alike!” Mallory exclaimed. “I never noticed it until now!”

Bob and Marvin looked at each other and laughed. Mallory joined in, unaware of what was so funny.

“Come along, sonny, we better not be late for our anatomy quiz,” Bob quipped in an old man voice.

“You got it, pops!” Marvin replied, using a youthful, childlike voice. 

“Hey, no cheating this time, Bob!” Mallory reminded. “And if he does, Susman… just cool it, let it be. We don’t need any more fake plays or minor injuries, got it?”

“Got it,” they both replied.

And with that, they went on to take their quiz, chuckling over the conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've read through this, then thank you so much! I had fun brainstorming and putting it together, and while I know it won't be read by many people, I am grateful to those who do take the time to do so!
> 
> I might make an epilogue for this story, but I'm not exactly sure about it. I may also just make it a separate one-off. We'll see how it goes~
> 
> I do have more to contribute to this "series" (I couldn't come up with a better name for it), but I still need to write them out. I also have a couple other fics to write outside of it, but those'll be for another day. 
> 
> Thank you again!


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